Efforts to increase the number of minority scientists, researchers, and doctorates are ongoing in colleges and universities across the United States. The scarcity of minority scientists, researchers, and health professionals is not a new issue and continues to be a major problem in most academic disciplines, including biomedical and healthcare fields. The RESPECT training Core main objectives include: 1) Establish a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the state of Alabama to develop a consortium of "academic council" between UAB and HBCUs representatives; and 2) Develop and implement a student "health disparities training tract" in order to prepare HBCUs students for graduate programs in allied heath professions and medical professions. This program will partner with the UAB Minority Health and Research Center (MHRC) and graduate programs. This will include the School of Public Health, Optometry, Nursing, Medicine, and the School of Allied Health Related Professions. The goal of this program is to identify highly motivated AA students who are committed to or are interested in a biological or behavioral sciences major at the participating HBCU. We also propose to further prepare them on site at HBCUs through: 1) Summer Enrichment Programs, as well as, 2.) Visiting Scholar Programs and health disparity courses, to return them to their communities, as well as, to enter graduate school at UAB in a health-related graduate program (Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, School of Health Related Professions) to address health disparities in the Black Belt region. This program will intervene at the matriculating level to both train and expose HBCUs students the health desperate needs, as well as, educate them regarding the challenges and the needed interventions for their communities. As a result we hope that the program will provide the opportunities to return students of high caliber and health care workers of substantial training to the Black Belt counties addressing health disparities and to develop individuals who will both be sensitive and who will offer the greatest opportunity for well-trained health care professionals to return to this underserved area.